The Rise to Greatness
by Vanex
Summary: Eion1231's Challenge: You guys know the drill. Check my profile for the summary. Warning: Team 7 and Minato Bashing. Main Pairing: Harem: Naruto x Kushina x Motoko x Mito x Mikoto x FemKyuubi x Yugao x Mei x Yakumo
1. Prologue

**Vanex: _Hello all! This story is another challenge that I've taken up. Credit for the idea of this story goes to Eion1231. Hopefully it'll do as good as The Uzumaki Otokage is doing. Sit back and enjoy!_**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

Normal Talking

_Normal Thinking/Dreams/Flashbacks_

**Demon Talking**

_**Demon Thinking**_

*Scene Change*

**Prologue**

Five-year-old Naruto Namikaze watches in horror as the Kyuubi no Yoko attacks the village.

"_If the Kyuubi's here, then what happened to Mom? Dad? My little sisters?"_

Konoha ninja attack the beast, trying desperately to stop it. Their attacks are no use. Suddenly, a barrier of chakra chains forms around the Kyuubi.

"Mom's okay!"

*Scene Change*

Kushina Uzumaki coughs as she tries to maintain both the barrier and grip she has on the Kyuubi. "Minato, if you have a plan, now would be a good time to do it!"

Minato Namikaze looks at her. "I found the notes on the seal that the first Mito Uzumaki used when she sealed the Kyuubi into herself."

Kushina's eyes widen. "That means that you don't have to summon the Shinigami!"

"Which means I don't have to sacrifice my soul. But there's a catch. I'll have to split the Kyuubi between the two children. As infants, neither would be able to handle the full power of the Kyuubi, but they should each be able to handle half."

"And condemn them to the lives of Jinchuriki?"

"It won't be like the others. They all contain the entire beasts. Our children will each contain half of the Kyuubi. Its mind will be too split and unfocused to even try to take over either child. It'll make them less likely to be scorned by others."

"I hope you know what you're doing."

"So do I."

*Scene Change*

Naruto watches as the Kyuubi is engulfed in a bright light. When the light fades away, the Kyuubi is gone. He takes off for the site of the battle.

*Scene Change*

Hiruzen Sarutobi walks up to where the Kyuubi was. He finds two crying infants being calmed down by two smiling parents.

Minato sees Hiruzen. "We did it. The Kyuubi has been sealed again. The threat has passed."

"Where did you seal it?"

"We split it into the two twins here. Meet Motoko and Mito Namikaze."

"They're beautiful, Minato. Come on, let's help Kushina get to a hospital."

"Mom! Dad!"

The whole group turns to see Naruto run up.

Kushina smiles. "Naruto!"

Naruto runs up to his mother and hugs her. Then he hugs his dad. He turns his attention to the twins. "Are they-?"

"Yes. Naruto, say hello to your baby sisters."

Naruto glows with excitement as he looks at the two babies. "Hello there. I'm your big brother."

Hiruzen smiles at the scene. If only he knew that this would be the last real family moment that Naruto will have with the others for a long time.

**Vanex: _Once again, a short prologue. Hopefully, it does the job of getting you guys curious about this story. See you all next time!_**


	2. Chapter 1

**Vanex: _Hello all! Here is Chapter 1!_**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

Normal Talking

_Normal Thinking/Dreams/Flashbacks_

**Demon Talking**

_**Demon Thinking**_

*Scene Change*

**Chapter 1**

Seven years later...

"Daddy, I did it!"

"Me too!"

Minato looks up to the top of the trees to see the twins smiling down at him. "Great job at completing the tree-climbing exercise, you two!"

"I'm so proud of you!" says Kushina as she walks up.

The twins jump down. "What will we learn next, Dad?"

"Well, the next chakra control exercise to learn is water-walking!"

The twins cheer as Minato and Kushina lead them towards the family swimming hole. None of them notice the twelve-year-old boy, watching them from a second floor window, inside the house.

Naruto sighs to himself. _"Another day of feeling like I don't exist."_

Shortly after the Kyuubi sealing, Naruto began to notice a change in the family. His parents were focusing their attention solely on the twins. It didn't really sink in for him, until his sixth birthday.

"_Morning, Mom! Morning, Dad!"_

"_Morning, Naruto," replied both Minato and Kushina._

"_Don't you guys have something to say to me?"_

_Minato and Kushina looked at each other in puzzlement._

"_Nothing that I can think of," said Minato._

_Naruto felt disappointed. "Oh, never mind."_

_Naruto walked away from them. "How could they forget about my birthday? Wait, it could be one of those birthdays in which they pretend to forget. They'll surprise me later!"_

_The day passed, with nothing happening for Naruto's sixth birthday._

Naruto puts down the book he's reading and walks out of his room. He gets himself a snack in the kitchen. As he's munching on his snack, he walks into the living room. He looks at the top of fireplace and sighs again. On the fireplace are five framed photos. Each year, the photos are updated to accommodate for how much has changed over the year. The four photos that surround the middle one featuring the different members of the household, with no photo featuring Naruto. The middle photo is a family photo that was taken in front of the Namikaze house. Naruto isn't in the photo.

Naruto walks out of the house and heads down the street towards the academy. He had passed yesterday's exam with flying colors, so he'll be assigned to a team, today. Of course, when he passed, his family wasn't there to congratulate him.

It had been hectic, having to train himself in order to even pass. Not only did his family act like he didn't exist, but the villagers as well. They didn't even recognize him as being the Hokage's son. He had been thrown out of the shinobi library, being told that only members of shinobi families can enter it. Naruto had to resort to drastic measures to get training. He would actually steal the books out of the library, and then return them when he was done. No one knew it was him, of course. He would always leave a note with each book, apologizing for taking it. He would sign it with: The One Konoha Forgot. The Hokage and the ANBU are still trying to figure out who The One Konoha Forgot is.

*Scene Change*

Naruto arrives at the classroom in the academy and sits down next to one of his only friends in the village, Itachi Uchiha.

"Naruto."

"Itachi, how are you doing?"

"I'm dong okay, Naruto. Sasuke is being his usual self."

"He hero worships you, Itachi. It's kind of expected for him to constantly want to play with you."

"I guess. What about you, Naruto? How are things?"

"Same as ever."

"What are they doing now?"

"Right now, the twins are learning water walking at the swimming hole."

Itachi shakes his head. Naruto had told him all about the neglect he had been receiving at home.

"Hey, you two."

Naruto and Itachi look up to see Yugao Uzuki join them. Yugao is the only other friend Naruto has.

"Well today, we learn our teams. Let's hope we end up together."

"Yugao, no matter how much I want us to end up together, there's no chance of it happening."

"Don't be so sure, Naruto."

"What do you mean, Itachi?"

"You'll see."

The teacher comes into the room. "Congratulations to everyone in here! You have all done well in this class and now you will go out into the world as ninja. Be warned, it's dangerous out there. You won't have the safety of the academy to help you from this point on. I wish you all the best of luck. Now, I'll announce the teams. Team 1 is..."

Naruto sits back as the teams are announced, still completely sure that he'll end up having to work with two strangers.

"Team 6 is Naruto Namikaze, Itachi Uchiha, and Yugao Uzuki. Your sensei is Mikoto Uchiha. Team 7 is..."

Naruto bolts up in his chair. He then turns to glare at Itachi. "How the hell did you know?"  
"My mom made the request. Made up some excuse about how you two are the only ones I seem to interact with and how she felt we would be a great team."

Naruto shakes his head, a grin breaking out on his face.

"Those are the teams. You will all wait here for your senseis to arrive. Good luck out there."

The teacher leaves the room. Less than a minute later, a certain black-haired woman enters.

"Team 6, come with me."

The trio get up and follow Mikoto out of the room. She leads them to Training Ground 6, where she gets hugged by Naruto.

"Aunt Mikoto, you're amazing!"

"Well, I wasn't about to leave my godson to rot, now was I?"

Mikoto didn't know about how the Namikazes were treating Naruto, not until Itachi told her about it. She spied on the house long enough to confirm it without a doubt. She even confronted Kushina about it.

"_Kushina!"_

"_Oh, hey Mikoto. What's up?"  
"I'm just here to see how things are going on with you and the family."_

"_Oh, things are going great! Minato is at the office right now and the twins are training in the yard."_

"_And Naruto?"_

"_What?"_

"_What about Naruto? What's he up to right now?"_

"_He's probably in his room right now."_

"_Why isn't he training with the twins?"_

"_It's important that the twins get training. After all, they need to gain control of the Kyuubi's powers. I'm sure Naruto's fine."_

"_How can you be so sure?"_

"_What are you saying?"_

"_Naruto isn't even in the house, right now. He's actually hanging out with my son, Itachi, right now."_

"_Send him home, then. He'll have to be punished for not telling anyone he was leaving."_

"_He did. He told you, Kushina."_

"_No he didn't."_

"_Yes, he did. But you brushed him off, cause you were focused on the twins."_

"_What is the point of this conversation, Mikoto?"_

_Mikoto looked at Kushina in shock and anger. "If you can't figure it out, there's no point in me telling you."_

After that, Mikoto would go out of her way to help Naruto, including personally training him.

"So, what are we going to do first, Mikoto-sensei?"

"Well Yugao, today would actually be introductions. But we already know about each other, so we don't have to do anything today. Tomorrow, we would have you take an exam to determine if the three of you could work as a team. But, I already know that you three work together brilliantly. So, tomorrow will be training instead. As for today, we'll do some training, and then I'll take you three to a restaurant to celebrate the formation of Team 6."

Yugao and Naruto cheer, while Itachi just smiles.

*Scene Change*

After spending the day at the training ground and the restaurant, Team 6 are walking down the street.

Yugao grins at Naruto. "Hey, Naruto. Isn't tonight one of your performances?"

"Yeah. Tonight, I'm performing at the dango restaurant across from Ichiraku."

"I'll be there to see you."

"So will we," says Mikoto.

Due to the neglect, Naruto built up a lot of sadness. When Mikoto found out, she helped him find a way to vent the emotions. Naruto's way is through singing. Naruto, being somewhat of a genius, improved the basic henge. It's now an actual transformation, not an illusion. The beauty of it is that it will only dispel if the user wants to dispel it. So, Naruto is living a double life. On one hand, he is Naruto Namikaze, the somehow unknown son of Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki. On the other, he is the well-known, female singer Narumi Namaki. She's known for singing songs of sadness and loneliness.

"See you later, everyone."

Naruto watches Yugao run off in a different direction, heading for her home. Further down, Mikoto and Itachi split off to head to the Uchiha clan house. Naruto walks the rest of the way home, alone.

"Well time to prepare for tonight."

**Vanex: _No, you people won't get to see Narumi perform. Well, not this particular performance. I can't help but wonder how you people will take the whole Naruto being a female singer thing. Anyway, yes this is one of those neglectful Namikaze family stories that are being written, though none of them have ever been finished. Let's hope that I can be the combo breaker. See you all next __time!_**


	3. Chapter 2

**Vanex: _Hello all! Here is Chapter 2!_**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

"Normal Talking"

"_Thinking/Dreams/Flashbacks"_

"**Demon Talking"**

"_**Demon Thinking"**_

*Scene Change*

**Chapter 2**

Four months later...

Kushina smiles to herself as she dusts the house. The twins are sparring in the yard, and Minato is at the office. All-in-all they are one, big, happy family. From the moment the twins had the Kyuubi sealed inside of them, Kushina had been overcome with fear that they would be shunned and scorned like most Jinchuriki. While most of the villagers hail them as heroes, there are some people who just hate all Jinchuriki, viewing them as abominations. She would go well out of her way to make sure that the twins never come into contact with those kind of people. She focuses on training them to make sure they can defend themselves against those that would harm them.

As she's dusting the living room, she starts dusting the photos on the top of the fireplace. She steps back to look at the photos. She smiles at the pictures of Minato, Motoko, Mito, and herself. She looks at the family photo. She smiles at the picture, but suddenly the smile turns to a frown.

"Isn't something missing?"

The picture felt wrong, somehow. Minato, Kushina, and the twins were all in the photo, standing in front of the Namikaze house, but Kushina felt like something was missing from the photo. Something very important.

"What is it? What's missing from this picture?"

Her gaze turns to the picture of Minato. In her mind's eye, something begins to appear on his cheeks.

"Mom! Mito is stuck and I can't get her out!"

Kushina jumps at the sound of Motoko's voice. She looks out the window to see Mito's leg was somehow stuck in the ground.

"I'm coming!"

She looks at the photos one more time, before running out the door to help her daughter.

*Scene Change*

Minato looks at the group of jonin in front of him.

"This year, the Chunin Exams will be held in Suna. We'll start with the rookie teams. Do any of you wish to nominate your teams?"

No one moves for a few moments. Then Mikoto steps forward.

"I, Mikoto Uchiha, would like to nominate Team 6, consisting of Naruto Namikaze, Itachi Uchiha, and Yugao Uzuki, for the Chunin Exams."

Everyone looks at her. Minato clears his throat. "Are you sure about it, Mikoto?"

"Absolutely. Their training is going very well. They've performed splendidly on the missions. I truly feel that they're ready."

"Very well, Team 6 will participate in the Chunin Exams. Anyone else want to nominate their teams?"

*Scene Change*

While they wait for Mikoto to show up, Naruto and Itachi are sparring, while Yugao is practicing the sword style she's learning.

"So, Naruto. How are your seals coming along?"

"Why don't you look on your back, Itachi?"

Itachi's eyes widen before electricity shoots through him, shocking him enough to make him fall onto his back. He looks up to see Naruto with a kunai pointed at his neck.

"I win."

"What was that seal?"

"It's actually a simple seal. I store some lightning chakra inside it and slap it on your body. When I trigger it, the chakra races through your body. The more lightning chakra I put in, the more dangerous it is."

Yugao has joined them, by this point. "It's got to be a little hard to perform that seal, considering that you don't have a lightning affinity."

Naruto nods. "True. I actually have a double affinity for both wind and water."

"That's good! It'll make it easier for you to reach both chunin and jonin."

"Front and center, you three!"

The trio jump up and quickly stand in front of Mikoto, who just arrived.

"I'm sorry for being late. An important meeting came up and I have good news for you three. The Chunin Exams will be held in Suna this year, and I've nominated this team."

All three look at her, surprised.

"Are you sure we're ready for this, sensei?"

"I'm positive, Yugao. You three have been doing exceptionally well, over the last four months. I truly believe that you three are ready to become chunin."

Naruto grins. "We won't let you down, sensei!"

"I know you three won't. Now, the exams will begin in two weeks. We'll do nothing but train for the next week and a half. Then we'll set out for Suna."

They start training again.

*Scene Change*

Minato smiles as he finishes the paperwork for the day. "Phew, I glad that's all taken care of."

He looks at his desk, at the list of Konoha ninja that will attend the Suna Chunin Exams. He looks at one name in particular: Naruto Namikaze.

"I can't believe that Mikoto would nominate Naruto. There's no way that's he ready. I haven't trained him in anything. The twins are more important. I'm certain one of them is the child of the prophecy."

The day after the twins were born, Minato got a visit from Jiraiya.

"_Hey, Minato!"_

"_Jiraiya! What are you doing here?"_

"_What's wrong with visiting my favorite student?"_

_Minato glared at him._

"_Okay, I'm actually here because the Toad Sage called me to tell me a prophecy. The prophecy says that a powerful ninja, born to two powerful ninja, will defeat a great evil and bring peace to the world. We think that it could be one of your kids."_

"_Sweet! So, it must be one of the twins, but which one?"_

"_Wait, why can't it be Naruto?"_

"_Because the prophecy says a powerful ninja. With the power of the Kyuubi, the twins will surpass Naruto easily. There's no way it can be him."_

_Jiraiya shakes his head. "Whatever you say, Minato."_

After Jiraiya left, Minato set his plan to prepare the twins in motion.

"_Minato? Is something wrong?"_

"_Kushina, I was just visited by Jiraiya. He told me of a prophecy about a powerful ninja saving the world. We think it's one of the twins."_

"_Do we know which?"_

"_No, which is why we will have to focus on training them both."_

"_What about Naruto?"_

"_He'll have to be pushed to the side. The twins are the important ones here."_

"_That's not good enough! We can train both the twins and Naruto easily! I refuse to neglect my son in favor of the twins, because of some prophecy!"_

"_Kushina! Try to see reason, here!"_

"_Family is important! That's what my family always said to me! No matter what, family comes first! Isn't that what the toads said, also? I will not abandon my son!"_

"_Then you leave me no choice."_

_Minato got up and walked over to Kushina._

"_What are you doing, Minato?"_

"_What needs to be done."_

_He quickly overpowered her and knocked her unconscious. He set her face-down on the floor and pulled out his seal kit._

"_I never thought I would have to use this seal. I can't fully eradicate or suppress your memories of Naruto, but I can suppress them enough that it will take a sheer amount of will power to fully remember him."_

_He drew a seal on the back of her neck. He then did some handsigns and touched the seal._

"_You will forget Naruto Namikaze."_

_The seal glowed for a few seconds. Minato picked up Kushina and set her down in a chair. She started to groan as she woke up._

"_Minato? What happened?"_

"_You fainted, Kushina. Are you okay?"_

"_I think so. What was I doing here?"_

"_I was telling you about the prophecy and how we're certain the chosen child is one of the twins. We're going to have to focus on training them hard."_

"_Oh. Okay, that shouldn't be too hard. I also want them to be able to protect themselves against people who hate Jinchuriki." Kushina frowned._

"_Something wrong, Kushina?"_

"_I just have this really weird feeling that I've forgotten something important."_

"_Don't be silly Kushina. Come on, let's go check on the twins."_

Minato looks at Naruto's name again. "Well, on the bright side, this could be a good lesson for Naruto. It'll put him in his place, which is beneath the twins."

*Scene Change*

Motoko eats her snack as she walks back to her and Mito's room. It was now late in the day, and her dad would be home soon. As she's walking, she walks past Naruto. She looks back at him.

"_It's the imaginary blond boy, again."_

Ever since she was young, both her and Mito have walked past this blond stranger. They went to their parents about it.

"_Mommy. Daddy."_

"_What's wrong, sweetie?" asked Kushina._

"_Mito and I have been seeing a strange blond boy in the hallways."_

_Kushina looked thoughtful for a few seconds, before she puts a hand to her forehead._

"_Kushina!"_

"_I'm okay, Minato. I'm just feeling a little light-headed."_

"_What about the blond boy?"_

_Minato stood up. "I'll go look around. You three stay here."_

_As Minato walked off, Motoko looked at Kushina._

"_Are you okay, Mommy?"_

"_I'm fine, Motoko. I was just feeling that I've forgotten something. I've been having that feeling a lot, lately."_

_Minato returned a few minutes later. "There's no one anywhere in the house. Are you two sure you didn't make him up?"_

"_But Daddy, Mito and I have both seen him at different times!"_

"_Well, they say that twins have a special link. Maybe you both imagined the same person."_

"_I guess."_

Motoko walks into her room and sits on her bed.

"I wish he was real."

**Vanex: _I don't need a mind reader to know that a lot of you are now super pissed at Minato. I want to kick the bastard's ass, too. Wait, I have an advantage. I'm the writer here, which means I can make Minato suffer in any way I want. (Insert maniacal laughter here.) Sorry about that. Had a random evil moment. That happen sometimes. It comes with being insane. See you all next time!_**


	4. Chapter 3

**Vanex: _Hello all! Here is Chapter 3! By the way, I forgot to say this last chapter. I hinted at the song that Narumi will sing later in the story. The hint is hidden in the last chapter. See if you can figure out the hint. Let me know if you figure it out. The person who figures it out first, gets cake! One more thing, I'm not going to go into too much detail about the first two stages of the exam. They're not really relevant to this story. It's the finals that matter. Now then, on to Chapter 3!_**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

"Normal Talking"

"_Thinking/Dreams/Flashbacks"_

"**Demon Talking"**

"_**Demon Thinking"**_

*Scene Change*

**Chapter 3**

"Man, it's hot here!"

"It is located in the desert, Naruto."

"Shut up, Itachi!"

Mikoto and Yugao shake their heads at Naruto and Itachi. They're walking in Suna, ready for the Chunin Exams.

"You three go ahead, and get a hotel room for us. I'm going to get the info about where the exam will be held."

"Sure thing, Aunt Mikoto."

Mikoto heads off in a different direction.

*Scene Change*

Minato is in the Namikaze private library, adding notes to an entry about a certain memory seal he created.

"In case of an outside influence trying to remind subject of forgotten person, user can take control of subject's mind long enough to divert the conversation elsewhere."

He finishes writing and returns the scroll to the shelf.

"There! It took me a few years, but I finally got around to adding that note. It makes me think of that close call with Mikoto a few years back."

He gets up and leaves the house.

"Well, I gotta get back to work."

*Scene Change*

"Here is your room key. Enjoy your stay."

"Thank you."

The trio head off to their room.

"Say, Naruto, I've been meaning to ask you something."

"What is it, Yugao?"

"You've been making money from both your ninja and singing life. What are you doing with that money?"

"Actually, I'm building my own home. I've had it with my family. As soon as it's done, I'm moving out. You, Itachi, and Aunt Mikoto will be the only ones who will know where the house is."

"Isn't that a bit drastic?"

"No. With both lives I'll be able to support myself. I just can't stand living in that house much longer. I hate looking at them and feeling like I don't exist. If they don't want me to be part of the family, then so be it. I'll legally drop my last name and just be Naruto."

"Naruto! You shouldn't have to do that!"

"Why not? They don't want me! They want me to cease to exist! I'll give them their wish!"

*Scene Change*

Kushina is with the twins at Ichiraku Ramen, enjoying her favorite food, when a bad feeling passes over her.

"Mommy? What's wrong?"

Kushina looks at Mito. "I'm not sure. I just got this feeling. Like I'm losing something or someone important."

"Like what?"

"I have no idea. That's what worries me."

*Scene Change*

That night, the trio went to sleep, leaving Mikoto wide awake. She looks at the sleeping form of her son.

She sighs. "Things are getting worse. I fear the Uchiha clan will go through with their revolt."

She gets up and looks out the window. "I can only hold them back for so long. With the way things are deteriorating, the revolt will within the next few months."

She looks back at Itachi. "I know that you are more loyal to the village than the Uchiha clan, just like me. You will be forced to pick a side and you will choose to side with the village. If that should happen, I want you to spare Sasuke. He has nothing to do with this."

She looks back outside the window. "He could be the one to rebuild the clan, and make it much better than the current one."

Little does she know that Itachi is awake the whole time.

*Scene Change*

The next day, we see the trio heading for the Suna academy.

"So, where do we need to go?" asks Yugao.

"Room 406, which is on the fourth floor," answers Itachi.

The three walk into the building. On the second floor, they see ninja gathered around a door marked 406.

"Genjutsu," says Naruto.

"It's there to weed out the weaklings. Let's head up to the real room."

The trio ignore the crowd and continue up to the third floor, where another crowd is around another door labeled 406.

"A second genjutsu trap."

"These people are more pathetic. To get past the first one, but not the second. They are going to be super humiliated when they find out."

They continue up to the fourth floor, where Mikoto is waiting.

"This is it, you three. Make me proud."

"Of course, Mother."

The three walk into a classroom. The ninja inside all stare at them as they enter the room, before turning back to what they were doing. The trio walk over to a corner, to wait for the proctors to arrive. A few more teams come in, before the proctor comes in.

"Alright! Everyone take your seats! I'll be your proctor for the first exam!"

Everyone picks a seat and sits down.

"Okay, this exam will be a written exam. You'll have to answer ten questions. You'll each start with 10 points. Every time you're caught cheating, you lose 2 points. If you, or one of your teammates loses all ten points, your entire team fails. You are not allowed to attack anyone else in this room. You have one hour. Ready? Begin!"

The hour passes. A few teams have been eliminated but most are still in the room.

The proctor looks at them. "Congratulations, you have passed this portion of the first exam. It was designed to test your information-gathering skills at being able to get the answers to the questions, without getting caught. Now, before you pass on to the second exam, you have a choice to make.

Only two of you will be allowed to go on to the second exam. You must choose the teammate that will fail and have to wait for the next Chunin Exams. The teammate that is selected to fail must leave this room, immediately."

Some of the teams begin arguing, which eventually ends with one person leaving. Itachi, Naruto, and Yugao all look at each other, nod their heads, and all get up to leave.

"Where are you three going?"

Naruto glares at the proctor. "We refuse to choose. We are a team. It's either we all pass, or we all fail. We can wait longer to become chunin."

As the trio leave, a chunin stops them and directs them to another room. Some more teams join them a bit later.

*Scene Change*

Back in the first room, the teams that had one teammate leave, grin at thinking they will go on to the next exam.

"Those of you still in this room, all fail! Like our ally, Konoha, we believe in teamwork. By selling out your teammate, you've shown that you don't have the maturity or responsibility to be a chunin. All you care about is yourself, but your teammates and allies matter as well. One person doesn't win a war. Get out of here."

*Scene Change*

In the second room, the teams inside are told that they passed and are instructed to report to the north gate. Upon arriving at the gate, they are greeted by the second proctor.

"Welcome to the second exam! This exam will be the ultimate survival test! You will all enter the desert and you must stay in it for exactly two days. You'll be given just enough water for half that time. Which means you'll need to attack other teams to get their water to survive long enough. On the morning of the third day, you are to return to the gate, which means you will pass. Remember one thing, your entire team MUST survive and be present with you when you return. Otherwise you're disqualified. Another disqualification will be leaving the desert ahead of time. You must be in there the entire time, to pass. Now, if you want to quit. You can do so, right now. Those who wish to continue, you need to sign these papers. This will free us of the responsibility of your deaths, if they should happen. Make your choice, now."

A couple of teams back out right away. Itachi, Naruto, and Yugao all start talking to each other.

"You think we should go for it?"

"I'm think we can do it, Itachi. What do you think, Yugao?"

"It's a crazy test, but I think we can survive it."

The three nod and walk up to the proctor.

"Three papers, please."

"Are you three sure you want to go through with this test?"

"Positive. We didn't come this far, just to back out now."

"Very well, here are the papers."

The three sign them and hand them back to the proctor.

"Right. Everything looks in order. Here are three canteens, each full of a day's worth of water."

More teams sign up and receive their canteens.

"Okay, then. The test will begin now. I wish you all luck out there."

The gate opens and the teams rush forward, into the hot desert.

*Scene Change*

Minato is pondering at his desk. "I need a way to avoid having to go to the Chunin Exam finals. I'm expected to show up with my family, and I don't want to risk Kushina remembering Naruto. I also don't want the twins to know they have a brother."

He ponders for a few more minutes, before his eyes light up in realization.

"That's it! But I'll need his help."

He pushes the button for the intercom.

"Secretary, can you summon Hiruzen Sarutobi to my office? Tell him it's urgent."

"Right away, sir."

Minato leans back in his chair, as he waits for Hiruzen to arrive.

**Vanex: _No. Hiruzen is not a villain in this one. He's going to be tricked in this. I won't reveal how, you'll have to wait until the finals to find out. See you all next time!_**


	5. Chapter 4

**Vanex: _Hello all! So far, no one has claimed the cake! Then again, it's only been a day or two since I challenged you guys. Keep trying to figure out the hint hidden in Chapter 2, pertaining to the song that Narumi will sing later on in the story. Anyway, like I said in the last chapter, I'm not going to really cover this portion of the exam, cause it's the finals that matter. On to the chapter!_**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

"Normal Talking"

"_Thinking/Dreams/Flashbacks"_

"**Demon Talking"**

"_**Demon Thinking"**_

*Scene Change*

**Chapter 4**

The two days pass. Upon the morning of the third day, the north gate is opened to await the arrival of the teams that survived. The first hour passes. At the beginning of the second hour, Itachi, Naruto, and Yugao return to the gate, exhausted. As the hours pass, two more teams arrive out of the desert. One team is a Suna team, the other is a Kumo team. The day passes, with no one else returning from the desert. The three remaining teams are given food and time to recover before they are brought back to the academy entrance. Waiting there are the Kazekage, Mikoto, the senseis of the other two teams, and the proctors.

The proctor of the second test speaks up. "Congratulations to you all! You have survived on of the most rigorous survival tests ever in the Chunin Exams. You have all passed the second exam and can move on to the third exam. I turn this over to the Kazekage, now."

"Thank you. Before we continue, I need to explain the true nature of the Chunin Exams."

**Vanex: _Okay, I am not typing out the whole explanation of the Chunin Exams a second time. Once in The Uzumaki Otokage is enough._**

"Now, I turn this over to the proctor of the third exam, who will explain the exam in detail."

"Thank you, Kazekage-sama. Now, the third exam will be a series of one-on-one fights, fought in a tournament-like fashion. Since there are nine of you, you just have to pick out a number from this box. The numbers you guys pick will determine who you fight."

The box is passed around and the numbers are picked. Everyone announces their numbers.

"Okay, here is the line-up."

The line-up is as follows:

Match 1: Itachi Uchiha vs. Suna ninja #1

Match 2: Winner of Match 1 vs. Suna ninja #2

Match 3: Kumo ninja #1 vs. Suna ninja #3

Match 4: Yugao Uzuki vs. Kumo ninja #2

Match 5: Kumo ninja #3 vs. Naruto Namikaze

"In order for us to get all the important people in the village and the whole event set up, the third exam will begin a month from now. Use this time to learn new abilities and get stronger. You have no idea of what you're opponents can do. You're all dismissed for a month."

The trio walk away with Mikoto.

"Okay, you three. We'll be doing a lot of training over this next month. By the time we're done, you three are going to clean out the competition."

One month later...

The arena in Suna is filling with spectators, all excited to see the finals. In the Kage booth, the Kazekage looks over the arena. He looks at the remaining participants, intrigued by some of them. He turns his head when he hears someone enter the booth and looks at him in surprise.

"Sarutobi?"

"Kazekage."

"What are you doing here? Where's the Hokage?"

"He wasn't paying attention to the time of the Chunin Exam finals, cause he planned his family vacation to be at around the same time. Since he's gone, I'm filling in for him."

"How long will he be on his vacation?"

"For a whole week. However, since he trusts my wisdom, he allowing me to handle the promotions."

"Wait, you said he was on a family vacation?"

"That's correct."

"Then why isn't his son with them?"

"What do you mean? I would assume that Naruto-"

The words die in his throat, when he looks at the participant booth and sees Naruto there.

He turns to one of the guards that came with him. "Have Naruto Namikaze come up here, immediately."

"Yes, sir."

The guard teleports down to Naruto. A few seconds later, both the guard and Naruto are standing in front of Hiruzen.

"What's up, old man? What are you doing here anyway? Shouldn't the Hokage be here?"

Hiruzen notices Naruto referring to his father as the Hokage. "No. He's on a family vacation with the others. I was going to ask you why you weren't with them."

Naruto lowers his head. "I should have known. Even if I'm in the Chunin Exams, they wouldn't give a damn."

Since Hiruzen has been spending his retirement relaxing at home, he doesn't know about Naruto's neglect. "What are you talking about, Naruto?"

"Nothing. It doesn't matter. Is there anything else, old man?"

"No. Thank you Naruto. Good luck in the exams."

"Thank you."

Naruto returns to the participant booth, where Itachi and Yugao look at him.

"What happened up there, Naruto? And why is the previous Hokage there?"

"Well, Yugao. It would seem, that my family found a way out of coming here. They're on a vacation, so the old man has to fill in for the Hokage."

"Oh, Naruto."

"I'll be fine, Yugao. Especially after I get out of that house for good."

The Kazekage stands up to address the crowd. "Welcome all to the finals of the Chunin Exams! Here the nine finalists will battle for your enjoyment, and to try to earn the promotion to chunin. I now turn this over to the proctor for the exam."

"Thank you, Kazekage. We'll proceed immediately to the fights."

He calls down both Itachi and one of the Suna ninja. They stand facing each other.

"Begin!"

Itachi opts to leave his Sharingan off and does some handsigns.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

Immediately after, he pulls off another move.

"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Flower Nail Crimson!"

He throws some shuriken to where the Suna nin will be when he dodges the fireball and blows fire chakra onto them, turning them into flaming projectiles. The Suna nin dodges the fireball, but doesn't see the projectiles in time. They strike him, setting him on fire. The Suna nin quickly rolls on the ground to put out the flames, but he has burn barks all over him.

Itachi quickly jumps to where the Suna nin is and grabs onto him. "Boom."

Itachi explodes, revealing that he was a Shadow Clone. The burnt Suna nin is sent flying into the air and rolls onto the ground, unconscious.

The real Itachi reveals himself to be leaning against the arena wall.

"Winner, Itachi Uchiha!"

The crowd is amazed by how quickly Itachi dispatched the Suna nin. They give him a round of applause for it.

The Kazekage looks at Hiruzen. "Impressive. He's a talented one."

Hiruzen looks back. "He's considered a prodigy by the Uchiha. He actually could have graduated early."

"Why didn't he?"

"Because of his friendship with Naruto. You see, despite being the Hokage's son, Naruto doesn't have many friends. I don't know why that is. Anyway, Naruto has a total of two friends in the entire village, his two teammates. Itachi didn't want for Naruto to be alone with no one to really talk to. So he decided to stay with his friend. Naruto argued with him, trying to convince him otherwise, but Itachi wouldn't listen."

"I see. How about the skills of Itachi's teammates?"

From what I've heard and read, Naruto is on par with Itachi, now. If those two make it to the finals, it will be one spectacular match. Yugao isn't as skilled, but she's catching up to them."

The Kazekage nods as the second Suna ninja is called down to face Itachi. The fight goes even faster than the first one, with Itachi emerging victorious again. After that, a Kumo nin and the third Suna nin face off, with the Suna nin winning. After that, Yugao faces off against the second Kumo nin, with her winning. Then, Naruto steps up to face the third Kumo nin, and defeats him.

After an intermission, Itachi defeats the remaining Suna nin, moving the exams on to the remaining two semi-finalists.

"Yugao Uzuki vs Naruto Namikaze! Will the two of you come down?"

The two walk down into the arena and face each other.

"Good luck, Naruto."

"You too, Yugao."

"Begin!"

They both jump back and do some handsigns.

"Water Release: Gunshot!"

Both of their water attacks collide. As the water rains down they engage in a taijutsu battle for a few minutes. Then both jump away from each other.

Naruto does some handsigns.

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

The attack sends Yugao crashing into the wall. However, she jumps right back out and the two fight another taijutsu battle, until Yugao pulls out her sword, only for the swing to be blocked by Naruto with a kunai, infused with wind chakra, turning it into a scimitar. The two engage in somewhat of a sword fight, due to Naruto not actually having a sword.

The Kazekage looks at Hiruzen. "Those two are skilled. You should probably talk Naruto into wielding a sword."

"I'm surprised he doesn't have one. I would have thought his mother would have gotten him a sword by now. I wonder why she hasn't."

The sword fight continues for a good five minutes, before Naruto takes advantage of an opening in Yugao's guard. The wind blade cuts into Yugao's hand, making her drop her sword. Naruto quickly grabs onto Yugao and points the blade at her neck.

"Surrender, Yugao."

"I surrender."

"Winner: Naruto Namikaze!"

The crowd cheers at the fight between Yugao and Naruto. As Yugao goes off to have her hand looked at, Naruto is given some time to rest. Then, the final match is called.

"Itachi Uchiha vs. Naruto Namikaze!"

The two stand in the arena facing off.

"It's time Naruto, to see which of us is the stronger one. Good luck to you."

"Same to you, Itachi."

"Begin!"

Itachi starts off with some handsigns.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

He immediately follows up with some more handsigns.

"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"

Naruto quickly counters.

"Water Release: Gunshot!"

He does some more handsigns.

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

The water attack collides with the first attack and create steam. The wind attack hits the second fire attack and blows it away into the arena wall.

Itachi charges at Naruto, but Naruto blows some wind chakra into his hand.

"Wind Release: Spiraling Wind Ball!"

He throws the ball at Itachi. It strikes him and Itachi explodes, revealing himself to be a shadow clone. Naruto pulls out a kunai and infuses it with wind chakra. He turns around to blow a sword held by the real Itachi.

"You knew that I have also been training to use a sword."

"Of course. I know that you want to reach ANBU. It's only natural that you'll want to know how to use a sword."

Itachi smirks at Naruto's reply. The two engage in a sword fight, this one being much more intense than the one between Naruto and Yugao. Back and forth, their blades clash, neither one leaving an opening.

Hiruzen looks at them in awe. "They're even stronger than the reports I've heard. I think I'm a hundred percent certain in my choices of which of them gets promoted."

The Kazekage says nothing as he keeps watching the fight.

Eventually it seems like Naruto gets the upper hand, only for the Itachi in front of him to disappear in a puff of smoke.

"Another shadow clone."

A sword is placed at his neck.

"Surrender, Naruto."

Naruto laughs. "I concede this one to you, Itachi. I expect a rematch in the future!"

"You're on."

"Winner: Itachi Uchiha!"

The crowd roars in approval of the fight they just witnessed. Mikoto jumps down and hugs both of them.

"I'm so proud of how both of you fought!"

Yugao joins them. "Nice job you two!"

Hiruzen and the Kazekage teleport down into the arena. The Kazekage speaks up.

"Thank you for the spectacular battles we've seen here today. We've debated among ourselves and three people have been chosen to get promoted. Considering who they are, I'll leave it Sarutobi here to announce the ones getting promoted."

"Thank you, Kazekage. When I call your name, step forward. Yugao Uzuki!"

Yugao smiles.

"Naruto Namikaze!"

Naruto grins.

"And lastly, Itachi Uchiha!"

Itachi smirks.

The Kazekage speaks up. "With that, I officially call the exams to a close. Thank you all for coming and enjoy your trip home!"

The spectators all get up and start leaving the arena.

Hiruzen nods to the trio. "Come with me, you three. There's someone who wants to meet you."

Confused, they watch as Hiruzen gestures to a man with an ANBU mask.

"This is the current ANBU Commander. He's in charge of the ANBU and answers directly to the Hokage."

"I was impressed by your fights. You've fought exemplary. Enough for me to recommend both Uchiha and Namikaze for the ANBU. Uzuki, we don't think you're ready yet, but we have an eye on you because we are sure you'll reach that level soon."

Yugao nods her head in understand.

Naruto asks, "Are you sure about the two of us?"

"Of course. I don't just hand out recommendations. I take my job seriously."

Naruto thinks for a few minutes, before giving his reply. "With all due respect, I must decline the offer. I want to gain more experience as a chunin and possible a jonin before I join the ANBU. I might even train a team before joining. I'm honored that you think I'm ready, but I don't think I'm ready yet."

"I understand, Namikaze. We'll leave the door open for you, when you're ready. What about you, Uchiha?"

Naruto looks at Itachi. "Don't you dare think about turning it down for my sake."

"But, Naruto-"

"I'll be fine and so will Yugao. You've always said that you've wanted to become an ANBU. Don't throw it away because of me. You know you're ready. I know you're ready. Go for it."

Itachi sighs, before turning to the ANBU Commander. "I accept your offer."

"Good. Once we get back, we'll get to work with you."

Mikoto hugs Itachi. "My son, an ANBU. I'm so proud."

The group sets off for Konoha, wanting to get home.

**Vanex: _Another chapter finished! Phew. It can be a pain when you hit a sudden roadblock in the middle of the chapter. I skipped the month between the second and third exams because I couldn't come up with anything to put in that month. Anyway, next up is one of the most infamous moments in Konoha's history. I think you all know which one I'm talking about. At least, I hope you do. See you all then!_**


	6. Chapter 5

**Vanex: _Hello all! Here is Chapter 5! By the way, the cake is still not claimed. Due to the rate this story is going, the song is coming up. So, I'll give you people a hint about the hint. The reference to the song, is one of the early lines of dialogue in Chapter 2._**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

"Normal Talking"

"_Thinking/Dreams/Flashbacks"_

"**Demon Talking"**

"_**Demon Thinking"**_

*Scene Change*

**Chapter 5**

6 months later...

A few things have changed over the last few months. The twins are now in the academy, in the same class as Itachi's younger brother, Sasuke, as well as the other clan heirs. Naruto and Yugao have both been performing their chunin duties splendidly. When Minato found out that Naruto had been promoted, he was very surprised.

_After he had read the report about who was promoted, Minato summoned both Hiruzen and Naruto to his office._

"_You wanted to see us, Minato?"_

"_Yes, Hiruzen. I wanted to ask why Naruto here was promoted."_

"_Because he showed exemplary skill during the exams. He was more than ready to be promoted. Do you not trust my judgment, Minato?"_

"_Most of the time, yes. But in this case, no. I don't think Naruto is ready to be a chunin. Therefore, Naruto, I am reducing your rank back to genin."_

"_On what grounds, Hokage-sama?"_

_Minato noticed Naruto's referral to him as Hokage instead of father. "Does it matter, Naruto? I don 't need a reason. It's my decision."_

"_Not really. As stated in the Konoha charter, the Hokage cannot reduce the rank of a shinobi without providing a legitimate reason, as well as providing proof that said reason is legitimate. If the Hokage should fail to do so, the shinobi in question can bring his case before the Daimyo. It was put in place to prevent the Hokages from abusing their power, and to prevent them from sabotaging the careers of the shinobi. You don't want to have me bring this in front of the Daimyo, do you?"_

_Minato glared at Naruto, before sighing. "Very well, your rank remains at chunin. You are both dismissed."_

_The two leave the Hokage tower, but Hiruzen stopped Naruto._

"_Naruto, I know there's something going on between you and your family that I don't know of yet. Please, tell me what's wrong."_

"_I don't want to pull you into this."_

"_I've already been pulled in, Naruto. Tell me everything."_

_Naruto sighed as he told Hiruzen everything._

After that, Hiruzen vowed to help Naruto whenever he needed it.

After the exams, Itachi began to see what his mother is fearing. There is a rift forming between the Uchiha clan and Konoha. Soon, his father informs him of the plan to overthrow Konoha. He instructs Itachi to be a spy for them. But Mikoto is right, Itachi's loyalty is to Konoha. He informs the Hokage, who instructs him to be a double agent and spy on the Uchiha. After a while, Fugaku became suspicious of Itachi, so he sends Shisui to spy on Itachi. Shisui Uchiha is later found dead in a river, having apparently drowned himself. What makes the Uchiha suspect foul play, is the fact that Shisui's Sharingan eyes are missing.

The tension between the Uchiha and Konoha grows even more, until it reaches it's breaking point.

*Scene Change*

"You wanted to see me father?"

Fugaku looks at his first son, Itachi. "It's time, Itachi. We will begin our takeover of Konoha tomorrow night. Soon, the Uchiha will rule Konoha, as we were always meant to!"

"I understand, father."

As Itachi leaves the compound, he is encountered by his mother.

"Let's take a walk, Itachi."

The two begin to walk towards the Hokage tower.

"Listen Itachi, I know you're a double agent for the Hokage. He will order you to wipe out the Uchiha clan, in order to prevent the takeover. I only have one thing to ask of you."

"I know, Mother."

She looks at him in surprise. "How?"

"I was awake that night in Suna. I know you want me to spare Sasuke. I will promise you that. In fact, I was going to spare him anyway. Someone will need to rebuild the Uchiha clan and make it better. I want to trust Sasuke with that task. But he will need a guide, so that he doesn't go down the wrong path."

"Who do you have in mind?"

Itachi just looks at her.

"Me? Why me?"

"You and I both know that you're the other informant to the Hokage. Your loyalty is to Konoha, like me."

She sighs. "You're too smart for your age, you know that?"

He smirks. "I am in ANBU."

She laughs, but then frowns. "What will happen to you?"

"Most likely, I'll have to become a missing nin. It'll make me seem like the villain to Sasuke and give him a reason not to go down the same path as me. Now, go back to the compound and take Sasuke with you somewhere."

She nods. "Be safe, my son."

"You too, Mother."

She hugs him and kisses him on the cheek, before turning around to head back to the compound. Itachi continues on his walk to the Hokage.

*Scene Change*

"Are you sure, Itachi?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama. They plan to launch the attack tomorrow night."

"It seems we have no choice but to proceed with the plan. Itachi, you will wipe out the Uchiha clan, tonight, then leave the village as a missing nin."

"Can I make one final request, Hokage-sama?"

"What is it?"

"I've identified the other informant to be my mother. I will be sparing both her and my little brother, Sasuke, cause he's has nothing to do with this. I ask for both to be protected by Konoha."

"I understand, Itachi. I will do everything in my power to make sure that neither comes to any harm."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama."

Itachi gets up and leaves the office.

*Scene Change*

At the west gate, the two chunin guards are just chatting with each other, when they hear a noise. They looked to see a masked man looking at them.

"Can we help you?"

They look at the eye hole and are astounded by what they see through it.

"A Sharingan!"

"Tsukuyomi!"

The two ninja collapse, caught in the genjutsu. The man walks into Konoha.

"Now, I'll rekindle the flames of war, leading Konoha to its destruction."

Before he can begin his plan, he is stopped by an ANBU.

"You. You are Madara Uchiha, aren't you?"

"Interesting, you somehow know of me. Who am I speaking to?"

"Itachi Uchiha."

"Ah, yes. The Uchiha heir. What business do you have with me?"

"I know why you're here. You want vengeance against Konoha. I read the report about the Kyuubi attack and I knew you were responsible for it. I'm here to make a deal with you."

"And that deal is?"

"You hold hatred for the Uchiha clan because they cast you out years ago. I am willing to help you take your revenge against them, tonight."

"In exchange for what?"

"I ask you to spare Konoha along with two of the Uchiha."

"Which two Uchiha?"

"My mother and brother."

Madara laughs. "I'll accept on one condition."

"Which is?"

"You will join the organization that I'm forming and become my student."

"What is this organization?"

"Akatsuki. That's all I will tell you, for now."

Itachi sighs. "Very well. I accept."

"Then we have a deal."

The two head off for the Uchiha compound.

*Scene Change*

Some time later...

Naruto and Yugao are on gate duty at the north gate.

"Hey, you two."

They look to see Itachi looking at them.

"Itachi? What's wrong?"

"Nothing, Naruto. I just have to leave on a mission. But first, I wanted to give you this letter. It's to both of you. This will be a long term mission. It'll be a long time before I see either of you again."

"Itachi."

"I have to go, now. This mission is important. Goodbye my friends."

Itachi disappears in a puff of smoke, revealing he was a shadow clone.

"Something's wrong, Naruto."

"The question is, what?"

"You two!"

They look up to see a jonin run up to them.

"What's wrong?"

"The Uchiha clan's been massacred! The compound is littered with bodies!"

"What? Are there any survivors?"

"Two. Mikoto and Sasuke Uchiha were out at a restaurant, when it happened. We think Itachi Uchiha is responsible."

"What? That's preposterous! Itachi would never do something like that!"

"We've confirmed from eyewitness reports showing Itachi leaving the compound after the massacre. Anyway, keep an eye out for him. We believe he will try to leave the village."

"It's too late?"

"What do you mean, Namikaze?"

"We were just visited by a shadow clone of Itachi, telling us that he's left on an important mission for the Hokage. He didn't leave through this gate, though."

"If we're lucky he's still in the village. But we have to check the other gates. You two will stay here and detain Itachi if he shows up. I'm going to check on the other gates."

"Yes, sir."

The jonin jumps away. Yugao looks at Naruto. "It couldn't have actually been Itachi, could it?"

"I don't know."

Naruto then remembers the letter. He opens it and reads it to Yugao.

"Naruto. Yugao. This may be the last time that we'll ever meet, so I want you two to know the truth. The Uchiha clan was planning to revolt and take over Konoha. I knew that this would only lead to another war, so the Hokage had no choice but to order me to wipe out the clan. My mother and brother were spared on purpose, so that they can rebuild the clan and make it better than before. I will be officially labeled as a missing nin. Mother already knows about what's happened, but Sasuke knew nothing of what's going on. Anyway, I have one request for the both of you. Look after Mother and Sasuke for me. You two are the people I would trust their lives to. This is good bye for now. Hopefully, we will meet again someday. Itachi."

"Oh my god, Naruto. How could the Hokage order such a thing?"

"I don't know, Yugao. After our gate duty is done, I'm going to visit Aunt Mikoto."

"I'm coming with you."

*Scene Change*

Upon hearing of what happened, Kushina quickly rushes out the door of the Namikaze home to check up on her friend. She arrives at the scene to see Mikoto and Sasuke standing outside of the Uchiha compound, both crying.

"Mikoto! Are you all right?"

"Kushina. They're all gone. And my older son was responsible."

"Oh, Mikoto."

Kushina stays with Mikoto for a while, comforting her.

"I'll be all right, Kushina. You should go home and get some sleep."

"Okay, Mikoto. If you need anything-"

"I know."

Kushina nods to Mikoto and then she leaves. Less then thirty seconds later, Naruto and Yugao arrive.

"Aunt Mikoto! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. It'll take some time."

"Is it true?"

"Is what true?"

"About what was written in this letter."

Mikoto looks at the letter that Naruto is holding.

"Yes, it's all true. Keep silent about this, you two. It would cause a scandal."

"I understand. Considering that the same thing would happen if I revealed to everyone about what's happening with my family."

Mikoto looks at the two.

"You should both go home and get some rest. Sasuke and I will be fine. We'll sleep in one of Konoha's hotels for the night."

"Are you sure? You and Sasuke could stay in my house. My mom still considers you one of her best friends. You know she would let you in a heartbeat."

"I don't want to intrude. Sasuke and I will be fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Very well, Aunt Mikoto. Try to get some sleep."

"I will. Goodnight, you two."

Naruto and Yugao both leave. Mikoto looks at Sasuke.

"Come one, Sasuke. We'll stay at a hotel for the night."

Sasuke just nods and follows Mikoto. He's trying to come to terms about what happened. Little did Mikoto know that Itachi's plans involving Sasuke would fail, as Sasuke will walk the path of darkness.

**Vanex: _That takes care of the Uchiha Massacre. Next up is the performance of Narumi that will lead to the discovery of the seal on Kushina. The moment you've all been waiting for is coming up. See you then!_**


	7. Chapter 6

**Vanex: _Hello all! Since the song is in this chapter, I'll reveal what the hint was. In Kushina's first line of dialogue, she says, "Isn't something missing?" These are lyrics from the song "Missing" by Evanescence. The reason I chose this song is simple, whenever I read these stories of Naruto being neglected by his family, this is the song that pops into my head every time. Well, this means I get to have the cake. Yay!_**

**Random Guy: _Uh, sir._**

**Vanex: _What is it?_**

**(Random Guy whispers in Vanex's ear.)**

**Vanex: _The cake is a lie? THE CAKE IS A LIE? DAMN IT! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!_**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto nor the song Missing.**

"Normal Talking"

"_Thinking/Dreams/Flashbacks"_

"**Demon Talking"**

"_**Demon Thinking"**_

*Scene Change*

**Chapter 6**

One week later...

Naruto is feeling both happy and sad. He's finished his house and will be moving in the next day. But, he can't help but feel the little bit of sadness, of leaving the home he grew up in, even though it wasn't much of a home. Tonight is one of his performances as Narumi Namaki. He'll be performing at the restaurant, Ichiraku Ramen. It used to be a stand, but Kushina convinced Minato to have it upgraded.

Speaking of his family, they've been trying to go to Narumi's performances, having heard good things, but Minato hasn't been able to clear his schedule, until now. Naruto will look out into that audience tonight and will see his family watching him, not knowing that they're watching him.

He leaves the house and walks over to Ichiraku Ramen, where his manager, who also knows that Naruto and Narumi are the same person and knows about Naruto's neglect, is waiting.

"Hey, Naruto. Are you ready for tonight?"

"As ready as I can be, Daisuke. It'll be difficult, cause my family will be there."

"I'm sure you'll do fine. They don't know it's you. I have an idea. You can let them know how you feel through a song."

"Good idea! But what song? Wait, I actually did pick up a song from outside the village. Now that I think about it, it's the perfect song!"

"There you go. I'll see you tonight."

"See you tonight."

*Scene Change*

Kushina smiles as she finishes getting ready to go. In just a few minutes, she, along with the twins and Minato, will be going to see Narumi Namaki, who they've heard is good. She walks into the entryway, where the others are waiting.

"Ready to go, Kushina?"

"Yes, Minato. Let's get going."

The four walk out of the house and down to the restaurant. Minato had made reservations ahead of time, so once they arrived, they were led to a table which was in a good position to see the stage. They order their meals and sit back to wait.

"Hey, there!"

The Namikaze family look to see Mikoto, Sasuke, and Yugao at the table next to theirs.

"Hey, Mikoto! What are you doing here?"

"We're here to see Narumi perform. We've been to all her performances."

"That's why we're here. We've heard good things about her, and Minato was finally able to clear his schedule."

"Hello, everyone."

They turn to see a band on the stage. In front of the microphone, is a brown-haired, green-eyed girl. Some of the crowd, those who have seen her before, cheer at her.

"Thank you. It's nice to know I have so many fans. As you know, I'm Narumi Namaki. For those of you who know me, you know about the situation I'm having with my family. It's what inspired me to sing the songs I do. For those of you who don't, well I'll explain. My family neglects me, to the point where I don't even seem to exist to them. I'm an outcast. This has been going on for my entire life. So, I've decided to build a house, so that I can leave them. Since they don't want me, I'll go away. In fact, my house was finished today, so I'll be moving into it, tomorrow. For years, I've been looking for the perfect song to describe how I feel. I finally found it during a visit to another country. The artist calls the song, "Missing." This song will be my message to my family. The family that turned me away."

**Vanex: _Quick note: Nobody knows who Narumi actually is, nor do they know that she's referring to the Namikaze family, except for those closest to her._**

The rest of the band start playing music. Everyone watches as Narumi begins to sing.

"Please, please forgive me

But I won't be home again

Maybe someday you'll look up

And barely conscious you'll say to no one

"Isn't something missing?""

That last line brings Kushina's mind back to the oddity she felt with the photos.

"You won't cry for my absence I know

You forgot me long ago

Am I that unimportant?

Am I so insignificant?

Isn't something missing?

Isn't someone missing me?"

"Even though I'm the sacrifice,

You won't try for me, not now.

Though I'd die to know you love me,

I'm all alone.

Isn't someone missing me?"

Kushina is certain she's forgotten someone important. She feels light-headed, but fights against it, trying to remember who she forgot.

"Please, please forgive me

But I won't be home again.

I know what you do to yourself,

I breathe deep and cry out,

"Isn't something missing?

Isn't someone missing me?"

Kushina is now noticing a stinging sensation on the back of her neck. She continues to fight against whatever is trying to stop her from remembering.

Even though I'm the sacrifice,

You won't try for me, not now.

Though I'd die to know you love me,

I'm all alone.

Isn't someone missing me?"

She looks at Minato who's focused on Narumi. Like before, in her mind's eye, something begins to appear on his cheeks.

"And if I bleed,

I'll bleed:

Knowing you don't care.

And if I sleep,

Just to dream of you,

And wake without you there.

Isn't something missing?

Isn't something...?"

Kushina can now make out the things appearing on Minato's cheeks.

"_Whisker marks? With those whisker marks, Minato looks like-"_

The stinging sensation on her neck intensifies, but Kushina summons more of her willpower to fight it, and a name finally comes to her mind.

"Naruto."

Luckily, no one heard her, so Minato is none the wiser.

"Even though I'm the sacrifice,

You won't try for me, not now.

Though I'd die to know you love me,

I'm all alone.

Isn't something missing?

Isn't someone missing me?"

The crowd starts applauding. Kushina, certain that something is messing with her mind, keeps her focus on her jumbled memories of Naruto. She looks at the people sitting around the table and sees that Naruto isn't with them.

"_My son. Where is my son? Where is Naruto?"_

Something in her subconscious warns her not to ask Minato, so she remains silent.

Later, they're walking home. Minato notices that Kushina seems distracted, but shrugs it off. He's certain she'll talk to him about it. When they get home, the twins and Minato go off to bed. Kushina stays awake. She walks into the living room and looks at the photos. The words of the song are echoing in her head.

"_You won't cry for my absence, I know."_

"Why isn't there a photo of Naruto?"

"_You forgot me long ago."_

She looks at the family photo. "Why isn't Naruto in this photo? Why?"

"_Am I that unimportant? Am I so insignificant?"_

She reacts in anger and smacks the photo off the mantle. It falls to the floor and breaks. The stinging sensation on the back of her neck intensifies, trying to make her forget. She summons more of her willpower to fight it.

"Why?"

She goes into a closet and pulls out a box labeled photo albums. She pulls out the one for this year and starts flipping through it. Tears are now building up in her eyes.

"Why isn't Naruto in any of these photos?"

She tosses aside the one she's holding and grabs the one from last year. She flips through it, finding no photos of Naruto. She tosses it to the side, and grabs another one. The tears are pouring out of her eyes.

"Why? Why isn't Naruto in any of these? Where is he?"

"_And if I bleed, I'll bleed: knowing you don't care."_

She keeps frantically flipping through the photo albums, desperate to find a picture of Naruto.

"Why? Why?"

Finally, she finds one. Her eyes widen at the picture and the date.

The picture depicts Minato, a young Naruto, and a pregnant Kushina, with a cake in front of them. The date on the photo is September 25. The photo was taken on Naruto's fifth birthday. Kushina is sobbing now, realizing how long she has forgotten her son.

"Oh, Naruto. Naruto, I'm so sorry."

The stinging sensation increases even more. Kushina tries to fight against it, but her memories are beginning to slip away again.

"No, I don't want to forget again. Naruto. Naruto! NARUTO!"

*Scene Change*

Naruto sighs in relief. "I didn't think I would make that much money for that last performance. Well, it'll make living by myself easier."

As he walks up to the house, he notices something odd. "The lights are on? Who would still be up?"

He walks into the door and walks into the living room. He sees all the photo albums thrown everywhere.

"What the hell happened in here?"

"No. I don't want to forget. Naruto."

Naruto turns to see Kushina crumpled on the floor, clutching a photo album to her.

"Naruto. Naruto. Why did I forget? Why am I forgetting again?"

Naruto looks at her, oddly. Then he notices something glowing, beneath her hair. He leans down next to her and moves her hair aside. His eyes widen when he sees a seal, glowing on her neck.

"This looks like-"

Naruto gets up and runs into the Namikaze library. He had been in the library before, usually when no one else was in the house. He spent that time looking at all the books. He quickly looks through the shelves and finds a particular book. He quickly skims through the pages until he finds a particular one.

"This memory seal is designed to affect a subject's memory, allowing the user to suppress the memories of one person that the subject knows of."

A glimmer of hope surfaces in Naruto, but he quickly fights it down. "I have to be sure."

He runs back to Kushina. He does some handsigns. "Seal Examination Technique!" He touches the seal on Kushina's neck. This technique is one Naruto created. It's designed to scan a seal and it can identify a few things, including when the seal was placed on the victim, and who placed it. The technique then makes the info appear on his hand.

Naruto looks at it. "The seal was applied October 11, the day after the twins were born. The person who placed this seal is-"

His eyes widen.

"Minato Namikaze. Why would Dad put a memory seal on Mom? Why would he block her memories of me?"

Naruto pushes the questions to the side for now and concentrates on the seal. He does some more handsigns.

"Release!"

He touches the seal. It pulses for a few seconds before fading away. Kushina stops writhing on the floor and looks up at Naruto, tears still falling from her face.

"Naruto?"

He nods at her, still a little wary. Kushina quickly grabs him into a hug, still crying.

"Naruto! I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry! I didn't want to forget you! Why did I forget you?"

Naruto's first instinct would have been to push her away, but he is certain that something sinister is going on here and lets Kushina pour out her emotions.

After a few minutes, Naruto pries her off of him. "Listen, Mom. We should both get some sleep. Let's both clean up this mess and go to bed. We'll talk in the morning, okay? We'll sort this all out then. But right now, I don't want you to tell anyone about what happened here, including Dad. I'm certain he's involved in this. Okay?"

Kushina doesn't look at him, but nods. The two get up and clean up the mess. As they both go to their respective bedrooms, she looks at him again. "We will talk tomorrow, right?"

"Of course, Mom. If there's one thing I do, it's that I keep my word."

She nods. "Goodnight, Naruto." She walks into the master bedroom.

Naruto walks into his bedroom, feeling conflicted. "I feel both happy and angry. I'm angry at my father for blocking Mom's memories of me. I still feel angry at Mom for forgetting me, even though it isn't her fault. I'm happy that she actually does care about me. I don't know what to think!"

He lies on his bed, still feeling conflicted, making it harder for him to fall asleep.

**Vanex: _Well, the seal has been removed and both of them will try to work things out in the morning. Will Naruto be able to get past his conflicted feelings about his mother? And what about the other members of his family? See you all next time, I'm going to mope at the lack of cake._**


	8. Chapter 7

**Vanex: _Hello all! Here is Chapter 7! Quick note: Tsunade never left Konoha. You'll understand why I make this note, soon enough._**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

"Normal Talking"

"_Thinking/Dreams/Flashbacks"_

"**Demon Talking"**

"_**Demon Thinking"**_

*Scene Change*

**Chapter 7**

Naruto is usually the first person up, due to the fact he wants to get out of the house early to train. This time he is surprised, when he walks into the kitchen, to see Kushina there, sitting at the table and staring out the window. He sits down next to her and looks out the window as well.

Kushina's the first one to speak. "I've been thinking all night about how this could have happened."

"What did you come up with?"

"Before I started forgetting, I remember Minato telling me about some prophecy and that he was certain that the chosen one is one of the twins. He told me that we would have to focus on the twins and push you to the wayside. I was against it. If there's one thing the Uzumaki clan always taught me, it's that family is the most important thing. I remember him approaching me, but that's it."

Naruto looks at her. "There was a seal on the back of your neck. It's Dad's creation. It's a seal that's designed to suppress the memories of a person. I used a jutsu of mine that lets me scan a seal and determine a few things, including when the seal was put on and who put it on. According to the jutsu, Dad was the one who placed the seal on you."

Kushina's grip tightens around the cup of coffee, that she had been drinking. "Why? Why would he go to such lengths for a prophecy?"

"I don't know. But the village has always been more important to him, than family bonds. I don't know why that is. But, I feel that we're missing something."

"What do you mean?"

"He has shown genuine hatred for me. Something tells me this goes beyond a mere prophecy. I must have done something, but I can't think of what it could be. Out of curiosity, what is the prophecy?"

"According to Minato, the prophecy states that a powerful ninja, born to two powerful ninja, will defeat a great evil and bring peace to the world."

"And he thinks one of the twins is the chosen one. Couldn't I also fit the prophecy?"

"Well, yes. But why would he think it's one of the twins? Unless, it's because of the Kyuubi."

"That makes sense. I suppose Dad is certain that those two will surpass me easily. Speaking of which, I'll have to check them for memory seals."

"I don't think you'll need to. You see, Minato convinced them at a very young age, that you were a figment of their imaginations that they created."

"I still don't understand why they would never try to talk to me."

"Well, from what they told me, you walk fast through those hallways and make yourself scarce. By the time they register that they've walked past you, you're long gone."

"Okay, so that's more my fault. Mostly it was because I had accepted that I no longer mattered to the family by that point. So, they don't even know they have a brother?"

"No, they don't. They'll probably flip when they learn."

"When will they be up?"

"In about 10 minutes."

The two sit in awkward silence.

"Naruto?"

"Hmm?"

"How are you handling all of this?"

"Honestly, I don't know. I definitely hate Dad, for everything he's done. Part of me wants to still hate you for neglecting me for over seven years. But the other part knows it's not your fault and knows that you do care about me. I'm neutral about the twins cause there was never any attempt by either them or me to form any kind of bond."

"I swear to you, Naruto. I'll do everything in my power to make up for the last seven years."

"Thanks, Mom. I really appreciate that."

They hear footsteps approaching the kitchen. The two turn to see the twins enter the room and freeze at the sight of Naruto.

"Mom, we can see the imaginary blond boy again. He's sitting right next to you," says Mito.

"I'll have you two know that I'm very real and not some figment of your imagination, as our dear father would like you to believe."

"Our father?" They both look at Kushina.

She sighs. "Motoko, Mito, this boy here is your older brother, Naruto."

The eyes of both the twins widen.

Motoko is the first to respond. "We have a brother, and you're only telling us about him, now?" She then looks at Naruto. "And if you're our brother, why don't you come on the family vacations or never eat any meals with us?"

Naruto looks at the two. "It's a long story."

He gestures for them to sit at the table, where he and Kushina tell them everything.

"How dare he?" yells Motoko.

"How can he call himself our father, if he goes out of his way to make sure we don't know we have a brother?"

"He'll be awake soon. We'll confront him about this," says Kushina.

Naruto nods as he stands up.

"Where are you going, brother?"

"I'm just going to get some cereal, Mito. I don't know about you, but I'm hungry."

He walks into the pantry and starts looking at the different cereals. But he stops and clenches his fists when he hears a voice that fills him with hatred.

"Morning, everyone!" Minato says cheerfully. But he stops when he notices the three women glaring at him, instead of smiling at him. "Something wrong?"

"Oh, nothing much, Minato. Just a little problem with a seal on the back of my neck."

Minato's eyes widen. _"What the? How does she know about it?"_

"Don't worry Minato, the seal has been removed."

"_Oh, shit!"_

"You know what I discovered? I discovered that the seal was blocking my memories of Naruto. The son I gave birth to twelve years ago! You can't imagine how pissed off I am at you, Minato!"

"Just calm down, Kushina."

"I will not calm down, Minato! I can't believe you would commit such an atrocity! Trying to erase Naruto from the family! What the hell were you thinking?"

"I did what was best for Konoha and this family!"

"And how does erasing Naruto benefit either?"

"Naruto is an obstacle! He gets in the way of people becoming successful! I need the twins to be successful, for the prophecy!"

"I don't buy that you would go that far for a prophecy! Naruto is right, this goes beyond that. Why do you hate our son so much?"

"Yes, dear father. What the hell did I do to cause so much hatred?"

Minato glares at Naruto, who has just emerged from the pantry. "You! How dare you turn my family against me!"

"They are as much my family as they are yours!"

"You are not part of this family, you little piece of shit!"

Minato throws a tri-pronged kunai at Naruto, who manages to dodge it in time, but Minato uses the Flying Thunder God Technique, placing himself next to Naruto, with his real attack powered up.

"Rasengan!"

The attack strikes Naruto, sending him flying back into a wall.

"Brother!"

The twins quickly run over to him.

Minato snarls at them. "Get away from him! If I can't make his life miserable, then I'll just end it!"

The twins don't move away from Naruto, choosing to shield him instead. However, Minato has forgotten something, or rather, someone. Kushina smacks him with the handle of her katana, which had been leaning against the doorway to the front hall. Minato falls to the ground, unconscious. Kushina takes away all of his kunai, and then runs over to Naruto and the twins.

"Both of you, go get Tsunade and the ANBU! Hurry!"

The twins quickly get up and run out the front door. Kushina checks Naruto's injury. He's bleeding from the Rasengan wound.

"It's sad. Just when I get you all back, you're all taken away from me again."

"Don't talk like that, Naruto! You'll be fine. Don't you dare give up! Please, Naruto! I love you, son! Don't you dare die!"

"I love you too, Mom."

The twins return with Tsunade who has brought some of her best medics, along with a stretcher. Her eyes widen at seeing Naruto's condition.

"Get him onto that stretcher, now!"

The medics quickly put Naruto onto the stretcher and carry him out of the house.

Kushina turns to the ANBU who had arrived with the medics. "Arrest the Hokage."

"What?"

"You heard me. The Hokage is being charged with the attempted murder, possibly successful murder, of a Konoha shinobi, who also happens to be his son. Then, contact the Daimyo. He's the only one who can oversee the Hokage's trial."

"Right away!"

The ANBU grab the unconscious Hokage and teleport him away. Kushina turns to the twins.

"You two, go to the hospital to check on Naruto. I'll join you, shortly."

"What will you be doing, Mommy?" asks Mito.

"I'll be disabling all of the Flying Thunder God seals that Minato has set up around the village, including the ones on these kunai. As long as they're active, he can escape the moment he regains consciousness."

"Okay, Mom. Be careful," says Motoko.

The twins run out the door. Kushina gets to work disabling the seals.

**Vanex: _I know this chapter is on the short side, but I couldn't resist the temptation of what is a very evil cliffhanger. (Laughs evilly.) See you all next time, whenever I decide to end the suspense. (Laughs evilly again.)_**


	9. Chapter 8

**Vanex: _Hello all! The move is over and I'm back in business. I've left you guys with the cliffhanger, long enough. Here is Chapter 8!_**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

"Normal Talking"

"_Thinking/Dreams/Flashbacks"_

"**Demon Talking"**

"_**Demon Thinking"**_

*Scene Change*

**Chapter 8**

Word spread fast of Minato's attempt to kill Naruto, shocking all of Konoha. Well, at first people were surprised at the fact they didn't even know he had a son, then they were shocked at the fact Minato tried to kill Naruto. Once Mikoto, Yugao, and Hiruzen heard, they rushed to the hospital, where they met the twins. Kushina shortly joined them, after disabling all the Flying Thunder God seals, where she explained everything that happened to the trio.

While they are waiting, an ANBU arrives. He addresses Hiruzen. "Sir, we have the Hokage locked up and we have contacted the Daimyo. He can't come right away, but he will be coming within the next two weeks."

Hiruzen looks at the ANBU. "Why are you reporting to me?"

"Since the Hokage is facing charges, you, as the previous Hokage, are in charge at the moment."

"Right. I forgot about that rule. Anything else to report?"

"Not at the moment, sir."

"Very well, you're dismissed. Keep an eye on Minato and do not let him out until I say otherwise."

"Yes sir." The ANBU leaves.

Mikoto watches the ANBU leave before turning her attention back to comforting the sobbing woman in her arms. After Kushina had told them all about what happened, she basically broke down in front of them. Mikoto quickly moved to comfort her.

She sighs. _"I can't blame her from breaking down like this. As a mother, I completely understand. Her son was taken away from her, although through unconventional means, she gets him back, and very soon after she has to face the possibility of losing him forever. Please Tsunade, save Naruto."_

After what feels like an eternity, Tsunade walks into the waiting room, looking exhausted. Everyone looks at her.

Hiruzen breaks the silence. "Well?"

Tsunade takes a breath. "It was very close. If we hadn't arrived when we did, it would have been too late. Naruto will be fine, but he'll be in the hospital for a while. At his current stage of recovery, we can only allow family to visit him."

Kushina is over joyed to hear that Naruto will be fine, but a solemn look comes on her face as she turns to face Mikoto and Yugao.

"You two should go in. You would be the ones he considers family, far more than the twins and me."

Mikoto shakes her head at Kushina. "No. No matter what, you and the twins are his family. You three want to redeem yourselves, for not being there for him for the last seven years, don't you? This is where you start. Go to him."

Kushina nods her head and smiles gratefully at Mikoto. The trio follow Tsunade as she leads them to Naruto's room.

*Scene Change*

Minato groans as he comes to. "Where am I?"

He looks and sees he's inside an ANBU prison cell. He walks over to the door and bangs on it. One of the guards opens a panel on the door and looks at him.

"Something wrong, Hokage-sama?"

"Why the hell am I in a cell? Release me at once!"

"I can't do that, sir. You are being charged with the attempted murder of Naruto Namikaze. You are to be kept confined to this cell, until the Third Hokage says otherwise."

The guard closes the panel. Minato grits his teeth in anger and slams his hand against the wall.

"Damn him! How dare he turn my family against me! He always takes away everything that is mine! I'll leave using my Flying Thunder God Technique, then I will finish him off, once and for all!"

He reaches out to locate any of his seals, but notices that they are all gone.

"What? Impossible! How were they all shut down? It must have been Kushina. She's the only other person who knows where they all are. Damn it!"

*Scene Change*

Naruto is lying in his bed, deep in thought. _"Why? Why would he try to erase me, then kill me? What is the motive? Why does he hate me, so much?"_

He looks up when there's a knock at the door. The door opens and Kushina and the twins walk in. Naruto looks at them in surprise, before smiling sadly at them. Kushina could see the look in his eyes that said that he is glad that they are here.

"How do you feel, Naruto?"

"Like I had my stomach go through a blender. What's been happening?"

Kushina smiles sadly as she sits down in the chair next to the bed. "I had Minato arrested. He's being held in the ANBU prison."

"Won't he just escape with his Flying Thunder God Technique?"

"I've disabled all the seals. He can't escape. Soon, the Daimyo will arrive and Minato will go on trial. For the moment, Hiruzen is the Hokage again."

Naruto nods and looks at the twins. This is the first time he's really looking at them, something he never did since they were born. They have changed from the two infants he saw on that day. Now the two were young girls, both looking like younger versions of Kushina. But, they have Minato's eyes. Also, they both style their hair differently. Motoko's hair comes down to the middle of her back and Mito's hair comes down to her shoulders.

"You know something? I was really excited when I learned I was going to have two little sisters."

The twins stare wide-eyed at him. "Really?"

Kushina laughs. "Yeah. You should have seen him. He was literally bouncing off the walls for a while."

"Mom!"

"What? Isn't it my job to embarrass you, like all mothers do to their kids, even in front of the other kids?"

The twins giggle as Naruto sighs. His face clenches in pain from his injury.

Kushina looks at him. "You shouldn't be moving too much."

"I know. I was just trying to sit up a little more."

Motoko looks at him. "You better get better soon! I want to get to know my big brother, and then you'll play with me!"

Mito looks at Motoko. "No, he'll play with me!"

"No, me!"

"No, me!"

"Both of you, stop it! Fighting over your brother like this!"

The twins look down. "Sorry, Mom."

Naruto shakes his head. "Wow. My twin sisters are fighting over me. People could take that the wrong way."

The twins blush. Kushina snickers at them.

"I wouldn't be laughing, Mother. People could also take that little confession of love that you gave me while I was bleeding on the floor of the house as something other than family love."

This time, it was Kushina's turn to blush. Naruto laughs at the three blushing women in front of him, before cringing in pain again.

"Okay, it hurts to laugh. No laughing for me."

Kushina smiles sadly at him, before leaning over to kiss him on the forehead. Naruto looks at her with a strange look.

"It's been a long time since you did that."

Kushina looks away and quickly changes the subject. The hours pass quickly, until Kushina notices the setting sun.

"I have to take the twins home. They have school tomorrow."

The twins protest. "But, Mom!"

"I won't hear any of it. Even though your brother is in the hospital, it doesn't mean you two can slack off. I'll bring you two to visit him after school and on weekends, okay?"

"And what about you, Mommy? What will you be doing while we're in the academy?"

"I'll be with Naruto, of course. Being the mother gives me privileges."

The twins grumble.

Kushina kisses Naruto on the forehead again, and then moves over to the door with the twins.

"Good night, Naruto. Try to get some sleep."

"I will, even though I'm in pain. Good night, Mom. Motoko. Mito."

The three leave. Naruto lays back to relax more.

*Scene Change*

Minato looks up when he hears the panel slide again. He recognizes the face of Hiruzen.

"What do you want, old man?"

"You know why I'm here, Minato."

"You want to know why, don't you? Very well. Remember that mission I took to Rouran?"

"You mean that mission where a man called Mukade was manipulating the queen, Sara?"

"Yes. As you know, Kushina and I had hit a big bump in our relationship that nearly destroyed it. During that mission, I realized that a relationship with Sara would be more beneficial than one with Kushina."

"What happened?"

"She didn't want me! My skills were nothing compared to his! He stole her heart from me! She fell in love with him!"

"Who?"

"A young man who was pulled back in time along with Mukade. A young man with blond, spiky hair and blue eyes. A young man named Naruto Uzumaki."

**Vanex: _Well, the relationship between Naruto and his family is beginning to repair itself. And now Hiruzen knows the reason behind Minato's aggression towards Naruto. Don't worry. The full explanation will be given when Naruto actually experiences it. By the way, the last sentence doesn't have any typos. Naruto has the last name of Uzumaki on purpose. You'll find out why, eventually. See you all next time!_**


	10. Chapter 9

**Vanex: _Hello all! Here is the next chapter!_**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

"Normal Talking"

"_Thinking/Dreams/Flashbacks"_

"**Demon Talking"**

"_**Demon Thinking"**_

*Scene Change*

**Chapter 9**

The weeks passed by, with the bonds between Naruto and the three women of his family slowly being restored. Kushina would spend her time with Naruto and so would the twins, when they weren't in school. Also, during this time, Jiraiya returned, having heard about what happened.

Finally, the day of Minato's trial arrives. Naruto is recovered enough, that they transport him over in a wheelchair.

The Fire Daimyo walks in and sits at his podium. "This trial is called against Minato Namikaze for charges of assault and unnecessary use of memory manipulation against Kushina Namikaze, as well as charges of assault and attempted murder against Naruto Namikaze. Bring in the accused."

The door opens and a restrained Minato Namikaze is brought in. He glares at Mikoto, Yugao, and the twins. Then he glares at Naruto and Kushina. He is brought over to his seat and is forced to sit in it.

"Minato Namikaze, you have heard the charges. How do you plead?"

"Not guilty."

"The defendant pleads not guilty. Prosecution, present your case."

The prosecution attorney stands up. "Thank you Lord Daimyo. Now, I am here to prove to you that that man, our own Fourth Hokage, is a traitor to his own family! A man who would assault and manipulate the members of his family to meet his own selfish, personal agenda! A man who doesn't deserve to call himself a father! To start, I'd like to present Exhibit A, the book of the Namikaze seals. In particular, this entry about a memory seal. 'This memory seal is designed to affect a subject's memory, allowing the user to suppress the memories of one person that the subject knows of. Note: In case of an outside influence trying to remind subject of forgotten person, user can take control of subject's mind long enough to divert the conversation elsewhere.' I'd like to call Mikoto Uchiha to the stand."

Mikoto gets up and sits down in the stand.

"How long have you known Kushina Namikaze?"

"Since we were students at the academy. We are the best of friends."

"How would you describe her?"

"A fiery woman. Powerful in her own right. A devoted mother to her children. When she found out she was pregnant with Naruto, she was so excited."

"Did you see her often in the years after Naruto was born?"

"Yes."

"Describe the relationship between Kushina and her son, before the twins were born, as you saw it."

"Well, the two were close. Kushina was a model mother then, always keeping an eye on Naruto and making sure he was safe, even when she was talking to me."

"What about after the twins were born?"

"That's when things changed. I didn't notice it at first, because I didn't see the Namikaze family much. But, one day I noticed Naruto all by himself. He told me about what happened and then I confronted Kushina."

"What happened?"

"Well, Kushina was acting strange, focusing on the twins while barely acknowledging Naruto. It was like she couldn't see that he was there. I confronted her about the fact that she didn't know where Naruto was. She then escaped the conversation by asking me what was the point of it. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. This was totally out of character for Kushina. I knew something was wrong."

"Is there any doubt in your mind that Kushina was not talking of her own accord?"

"No."

"After the attack on Naruto, you went to the hospital where he was, correct?"

"Yes."

"What happened?"

"The twins were already there, worried for their brother. Yugao and the Third Hokage joined us within a few minutes. About half an hour later, Kushina joined us, having disabled all the Flying Thunder God seals."

"Why did she do that?"

"To prevent Minato from escaping from his cell upon waking up."

"What happened next?"

"She told us what happened, before breaking down in my arms, crying over the fact that Naruto could die from that Rasengan hit."

"Is there no doubt in your mind that Kushina was showing genuine concern for Naruto when you saw her in the hospital?"

"No doubt at all."

"I have no more questions."

The defense attorney stands up.

"How can you be certain that Kushina was not talking of her own accord?"

"Because Kushina is a woman who loves her children. She always told me she was raised on the belief that family came first."

"So, there's no doubt in your mind that Kushina couldn't have been faking her crying in the hospital room?"

"Of course not! I was the one comforting her. The woman was hysterical, crying over the possibility of losing her son, forever. I can't believe you asked me that question!"

"Even if she was controlled, how can you be certain that the Hokage was responsible?"

"Naruto confirmed it with his Seal Examination Technique. The seal was placed on her by Minato, the day after the twins were born."

"I have no more questions."

"I'd like to call Yugao Uzuki to the stand."

Yugao sits at the stand.

"How long have you known Naruto?"

"Since we were at the academy. I was one of the only few friends he had."

"And when you two graduated you were put on the same team?"

"That's correct."

"Did Naruto ever speak of his problems at home?"

"Yes. I was one of the only people he would tell them too."

"Your team was nominated for the recent Chunin Exams in Suna, correct?"

"Yes."

"Now, as protocol dictates, the Hokage should have shown up at the finals correct?"

"Yes."

"Did he?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"He planned his family vacation to be at the same time as the finals, so the previous Hokage had to come in his place."

"He planned his family vacation to be at same time as the finals. The same finals that Naruto would be participating. So, I assume that Naruto was asked to drop out to join the family?"

"No."

"What do you mean?"

"They didn't even tell him. We didn't find out until the Third Hokage told us."

"So, the Fourth Hokage took his family on vacation, without bothering to even mention it to his son?"

"Yes."

"When Naruto was attacked in his home and taken to the hospital, you also went there, correct?"

"Yes."

"What happened?"

"When I arrived, Mikoto-sensei and the twins were already there. Less than a minute later, the Third Hokage arrived. Some time later, Naruto's mother arrived. She told us about what happened and then broke down in Mikoto-sensei's arms."

"Why would she do that?"

"She was very frightened that she could lose Naruto."

"I have no more questions."

"Miss Uzuki, is it true that both you and Naruto were friends with Itachi Uchiha?"

"Yes."

"The same Itachi Uchiha who slaughtered the Uchiha clan?"

"Yes."

"Why should we trust testimony given by either you or Naruto? The same people who were friends with a traitor?"

"Objection, Lord Daimyo! Their association with Itachi is irrelevant to this case!"

"Sustained."

"You mentioned that the Hokage planned his vacation to be at the same time as the finals?"

"Yes."

"How do you know he didn't just simply forgot about the finals?"

"Because the Hokage knew of our participation in the Chunin Exams. He had a whole month to change his plans for the vacation."

"I have no more questions."

"I'd like to call Hiruzen Sarutobi to the stand."

Hiruzen sits at the stand.

"While Minato was on his vacation, you had to take his place at the finals, correct?"

"That is correct."

"And after the exams, you promoted Naruto, Itachi, and Yugao to chunin, correct?"

"That is correct."

"How did Minato take the news?"

"He called both me and Naruto to his office and questioned me on why I promoted him."

"Why did you promote him?"

"He showed skills beyond a chunin. He was more than ready for the promotion. The Kazekage can back me up on this."

"So what happened with Minato?"

"I asked him if he didn't trust my judgment. He said he did, except in the case of promoting Naruto, so he tried to demote Naruto."

"Did he succeed?"

"No, Naruto brought up a law that states that the Hokage can't demote a ninja without giving a legitimate reason to why the demotion should happen."

"Did he provide a legitimate reason?"

"No."

"Did he provide any reason at all?"

"No. So, Naruto was allowed to remain a chunin."

"What happened after that?"

"I confronted Naruto and he revealed to me about what was happening with his family."

"When Naruto was attacked and ended up in the hospital, you went there, correct?"

"That is correct."

"What happened?"

"Well, when I arrived, Mikoto, Yugao, and the twins were already there. Half an hour later Kushina arrived. She told us about what had happened before breaking down into Mikoto's arms."

"Is there any doubt in your mind that Kushina wasn't heartbroken over Naruto's injuries?"

"None at all."

"I have no more questions."

"The defense has no questions."

"I'd like to call Tsunade Senju to the stand."

Tsunade sits at the stand.

"You were the doctor who took care of Naruto when he ended up in the hospital after the attempt on his life, correct?"

"Correct."

"Tell me about the injury."

"He had a gaping hole in his stomach, consistent with the size and damage caused by the Rasengan technique."

"Who could have used this attack?"

"The only two people who have mastered the Rasengan are Minato and Jiraiya."

"Where was Jiraiya during these events?"

"Outside the village, gathering info from his spy network."

"So, there is no doubt in your mind that Minato used the Rasengan on Naruto?"

"Correct."

"I have no more questions."

"Lady Tsunade, how can you be certain that the injury was caused by the Rasengan?"

"During the war, I had to treat enemy soldiers so that they could be fit enough for interrogation. I've treated some of them for Rasengan injuries. I know what one looks like."

"I have no more questions."

"I'd like to call Motoko and Mito Namikaze to the stand."

The twins stand up and sit at the stand.

"You two were present when the attack on Naruto happened, correct?"

"Yes," they both say. _**Note: They both give the same testimony, so every time there is a response to a question, they are both saying it.**_

"What happened that morning?"

"Well, we both woke up like usual and went into the kitchen to see Mom talking with a blonde stranger, who we then learned was our older brother, Naruto."

"Why didn't you know he was your brother before then?"

"Whenever we saw him in the hallways, he would walk by fast. By the time we registered that he was even there, he was long gone. We confronted Mom and Dad about it. Mom just kept feeling light-headed and not really with us. Dad went to investigate our claims, and told us that Naruto was a figment of our imaginations. Since he was our dad, we had no reason to question him."

"Now, what happened after you entered the kitchen?"

"Mom told us about the seal placed on her neck that suppressed her memories of Naruto and what had happened between them last night. Naruto went into the pantry to get some cereal. That was when Dad walked in."

"What happened?"

"Well, we confronted our father about what he had done to both Mom and Naruto. Naruto rejoined us in the kitchen, where Dad called him a bad word."

"What happened next?"

"Dad used his Flying Thunder God Technique to teleport himself next to Naruto. He then used the Rasengan on Naruto, sending him flying to the kitchen wall. We rand over to check on him, but Dad advanced on us, saying that he was going to kill Naruto. Mom jumped in though, using her katana to knock him out. Mom then sent us to get help, which we did, and Brother was taken to the hospital. Mom then sent us to the hospital, while she went to disable all of the Flying Thunder God seals."

"I have no more questions."

"The defense has no questions."

"Lord Daimyo, it would probably be best for everyone here, if we take a recess."

"I agree. I grant a one hour recess."

The Daimyo gets up and leaves the courtroom. Minato is escorted to a secure location, while everyone else begins leaving the courtroom or starts talking to each other, waiting for the trial to resume.

**Vanex: _Whew. The prosecution has gotten through most of their witnesses. The only ones left are Kushina and Naruto. With the amount of evidence they have against Minato, will he be found guilty? Or will the defense attorney pull off some kind of bullshit? See you all next time!_**


End file.
